Contemporary Parenting
Length: 8-10 pages (not including title and
references pages)
Format: Correct APA format throughout.
Title: Include an
informative, interesting, provocative and/or creative
title – but nothing too crazy!
The Literature Review consists of an introduction, summary
of scholarly sources, a discussion and evaluation of the
sources (including disputes and disagreements), and a conclusion in
which you put forth your own potential original research ideas, and
also discuss strengths and weaknesses of the literature you reviewed. A
minimum of 10 scholarly articles, published in the last 10 years, from
peer-reviewed journals are required for this assignment. All
articles MUST be scholarly research articles. You can cite books, excluding
your textbook, but these must be in addition to your 5 articles. Don’t
cite blogs, websites, opinions, etc. Your five articles should have
been published in the last decade; if you want to use an older article, it
should be in addition to your five required.
The Literature Review in the
Research Process
“Literature” refers to the scholarly
writing, published (original) research study results, and
other important analyses on a particular aspect of a topic. So you
are not going to write an essay on a Shakespearean play or
some other literary text.
The purpose of a literature review is
fourfold: The first is to summarize and assess the state of
existing knowledge on your narrowed topic. What knowledge
exists and is generally accepted with regard to your topic? Are
there important differences or disagreements among scholars? Are
there significant problems or limitations with any of the research
studies? Which research methods were employed in the various
research studies, which were not, and with what consequences? What
questions remain unanswered? What aspects or approaches seem
relatively unexplored? Through the process of reviewing existing
knowledge you will also develop a better understanding of your topic.
Required Elements of the
Literature Review (do not use these subtitles in your paper, they’re just to
help you conceptualize the format and content of your paper)
Introduction: The introduction presents your narrowed topic
or area of inquiry, usually through its significance and/or an
overview statement of how researchers have studied this narrowed
area. You will want to define the topic, and give a broad
overview of the current state of research findings surrounding this
topic. Do not forget to cite sources here – you did not
come to the table with this knowledge already in your brain!
Summary: The summary-of-sources section presents the
research, knowledge, and analysis that the literature offers
concerning your narrowed research topic. This section should be
organized according to the issues or aspects studied, the accepted
interpretations or theories, the disputed claims, and any unanswered
questions. Do not simply summarize each source in separate
paragraphs. The paragraphs in your summary should focus on
specific issues, not necessarily on individual authors. For
example, if you were studying prison reform, one paragraph might
present what three scholars have reported regarding education programs in
prison, even though one or more of those authors might show up again in
another paragraph on visitation rights. If a paragraph happens to
focus on only one author or article, make sure this is for a good
reason, for example, the article represents the authoritative
discussion of a particular issue; in such a case, the content of that
paragraph should be limited to the issue and not turn into a general summary of
the article.
Discussion and Evaluation: This section is your discussion
and evaluation of the articles from your summary section and not your
discussion of the issues themselves. Instead, you are
interpreting and evaluating the knowledge presented in the summary section in
order to raise questions for further research. You may discuss and
evaluate the significance of various conclusions and arguments, the
completeness of individual studies, the research methods
used, substantial areas of disagreement, debates over definitions of
terms, and/or the consistency of the results with each
other. As you present your evaluation, do so cautiously with
thorough analysis and explanation. Challenging the results of a
professional study with nothing but one isolated observation or opinion will
reveal your naiveté more than any real weakness in the study. Share
your evaluation without using the first person (I, me, my, mine); doing
so will shift the reader’s focus away from the subject and onto you, the
writer. As you discuss and evaluate the knowledge and issues with
regard to your narrowed topic, raise questions for further study along the
way. Refer directly to all of the articles from your Summary
section. Do not introduce new articles in this section that you have not
already covered in the Summary section.
Please note that even though you may take issue with
aspects of the research and findings in your sources, it is very rare for
the discussion to include a complete dismissal of any one source. If
you read a source and find that it has nothing or little of value to offer on
your topic, then do not include it in the literature review. By
choosing to include sources in your literature review, you imply that you
have already judged them to offer something that is worth consideration.
Further, it is important to distinguish between
evaluation for analytical purposes and evaluation for entertainment
purposes. While this kind of essay is called a
literature “review,” it is not a review in the sense of a movie
review. You should not be concerned with whether the material you have
reviewed is entertaining. The purpose, rather, is to
demonstrate how considering various arguments and approaches improves our
understanding and engages us in new questions.
Conclusion: The conclusion synthesizes the knowledge confirmed through
the discussion and evaluation section while identifying areas for further
research. After reviewing the literature, what do we
know? What don’t we know? There should be an apparent
connection between the new areas of inquiry and the summary of existing knowledge. Bring
your conclusion to a close by identifying and discussing the significance
of your topic.
References and In-text Citations: An
APA style reference page, with all of the sources referred to in your
literature review, must be included at the end of your
essay. All quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing must
also follow APA guidelines. In your presentation and analysis of
sources, do not use direct quotes; excessive quoting can turn
your literature review into a cacophony of different voices that frustrates the
reader’s ability to find cohesion between the distinct ideas. You
are always better off paraphrasing or summarizing, which you must do
carefully to avoid plagiarism. You must use at least 10 references
from peer-reviewed, scientific journals.
Audience: The audience for a literature review is a
somewhat hypothetical body of fellow researchers. These are people
interested in the same issues and who are usually working in a similar
field. Thus, you are expected to use vocabulary appropriate to
your subject matter. For example, the
term “reentry” has a specific set of meanings and connotations within
criminal justice. If you choose to write about this
subject, then you are expected to familiarize yourself with that word and
others and use them accurately in your explanations and
analysis. Note and look up commonly used terms as you run across
them in your reading. Consider how they are used in context and with
what connotations. Acquiring the vocabulary of the discussion is an
important part of being able to express yourself with clarity and
precision. Showing that you are conversant with the vocabulary and
concepts common to the discussion is also an important part of establishing
your authority to analyze the contributions of others.
Style and Tone: In tone, consider that you are writing
for a body of professionals. They want to see that you are
reasonably objective. Betraying a strong emotional investment may
cast doubt on your credibility. Thus, your tone and style
should emphasize that you are interested in furthering understanding rather
than establishing that you are right or winning an
argument. Moreover, the focus in this essay is not on
you; it is on the texts and topic you are analyzing and synthesizing. Therefore, do
not use the first person (I, me, my, mine). Nor
should you find occasion to use the second
person (you, your, you’re), for example, to address the
reader directly as in, “Having considered the many facets of this
problem, you may wonder how it can possibly be
solved.” Such language is overly informal for this kind of academic
writing and shifts the focus to the reader and away from the topic of your
essay. A possible revision could be: “A consideration of
the many facets of this problem clearly indicates that solving it will be
difficult.”
Paragraph form: Each of your body paragraphs should have a topic
sentence. Pay attention to the transitions between and within
paragraphs. Paragraphs in academic writing
are (usually) between 1/3 – 3/4 of a page
long. If they are shorter than that, you may not be adequately
developing your ideas. If the ideas or information do not deserve to
be developed further, then you might consider combining the content of the
short paragraph with another paragraph; in such a case, you would
need to revise the topic sentence so that it covers the combined
materials. If a paragraph is much longer than 3/4 of a
page, you risk losing the attention of your reader as well as losing focus
in your paragraph itself. Of course, there are exceptions to
the 1/3-3/4 page guideline.